Nissan Leaf removed from Scheme (again) 1st April 2017. New Leaf model due 2018 we believe.

The Nissan leaf is a five door medium sized car that looks sleek and modern, it is similar in size to a Ford Focus or Volkswagen Golf. The leaf has been designed from the bottom up to be an electric car so the inside is far better than you would expect, the batteries are hidden into the floor of the car and apart from a big lip when dropping the rear seats you loose no room over a conventional car, there is plenty of room for four adults to travel in silent comfort.

From the moment you step into the Leaf, you are entering a futuristic world where pretty much everything is controlled electronically, it can be daunting at first but once you embrace the technology and make yourself comfortable, which won’t take long as the Leaf is as comfortable a car as we have sat inside, you will very quickly love the layout of the cars interior and the technology at hand. The Leaf now comes in three trim levels, Visia, Acenta and Tenka, the Acenta is our pick as it comes with cruise control, automatic air conditioning, keyless entry and start/stop button, rear view parking camera, automatic lights and windscreen wipers, electric windows, rear privacy glass, 16″ alloy wheels, bluetooth connectivity and a 7″ touch screen information centre with a built in sat nav that at a touch of a button will display all the electric car charging points within your driving range, the entry level Visia is too basic and the Tenka adds heated Leather seats and a 360 degree camera.

Once you release the electric handbrake, engage drive mode and press your foot down on the accelerator the first thing you notice is the lack of noise, the car is almost silent even when accelerating hard and as there is no gearbox, just a single gear, progress is both seamless and silent. The biggest surprise is just how much fun the Leaf is to drive, the positioning of the heavy batteries in the floor of the car makes for a low centre of gravity giving the Leaf a balanced and sure footed feel. The electric motor produces 107 brake horse power that will propel the car to 62 miles per hour from a standstill in 11.9 seconds and on to a top speed of 89 miles per hour, but in reality the car feels more powerful, away from the lights the full power is available at the press of the accelerator making the car astounding nippy around town.

The Leaf is available in two battery sizes, 24 and now 30kwh as a 24 when fully charged the Leaf has a maximum range of 124 miles or 155 as a 30kwh but once you start defrosting the windscreen and pop on the heating in order to cope with the British winter this can drop as low as 50 – 70 miles for heavy stop start driving. Regularly charging the car is the only downside to Leaf ownership, if you own a garage or have a driveway you can simply plug your car into the mains with the cable provided and trickle charge the batteries overnight, a full charge costs around £2, in real terms this is equivalent to 333 miles per gallon, so you will quickly recoup your advance payment. Anxiety and problems arise if you have to charge the car away from home, Public rapid charge points are popping up all over the county which will charge an empty car to 80% within 30 minutes or if you have a progressive employer you can charge the car while at work and enjoy a dedicated parking place.

Ownership of the Nissan Leaf is not for everyone, the car needs to fit into your lifestyle, if you do the occasional long journey or constantly charging the car may cause a problem then a Hybrid car may be a better solution. The Toyota Yaris has both a petrol and electric motor working side by side that can return 80 miles per gallon without range or charging issues. There is no doubt that electric power is the future in motoring, be it as a Hybrid or full battery power, with the Nissan Leaf you are taking a trip to the future where motoring is affordable, silent, safe, comfortable and a little fiddly to recharge. The 24kwh leaf has been withdrawn from the Scheme, only the 30kw car is available.